"maleficia is the bay area duo of andy way (n.f. orchest, french radio, carrion, etc.) and ilysea viles sunderman, who crafted this desolate, post-industrial smear of voice, violin, and electronics for the always impressive isounderscore label. with the titles of the two side long pieces being "making" and "remaking," maleficia offers a crucible of elemental sounds being obliterated into a charred dust and rebuilt into ashen constructions of misery and disgust. sunderman's voice is sparsely employed emitting mournful wails that are not unlike those of christina carter, but detached from a freak-folk context and applied to this blackened, post-apocalyptic miasma. the industrialized loops that way wraps around the voice and violin come across like a slow-motion maurizio bianchi on par with the downer records he did with land use or the grim power electronic phase in the early '80s. nocturnal clatter and plumes of black smoke shroud the murkier, noisier side on "making," while funereal strings ground the nightmarish "remaking." certainly for fans of amber asylum, early lustmord, and the dark ambient aspects of broken flag."

www.aquariusrecords.org

"this is not maleficia's first release -- that would be an untitled cd-r on breaking wheel that came out in 2006 and was limited to 120 copies -- but it's probably the first release of theirs that anybody outside of oakland, ca will hear, even though it's not a significantly bigger press run (400 copies). maleficia is actually the collaboration between ilysea viles sunderman (viola and vocals) and andy way (electronics), and the heavy-duty vinyl release consists of two side-long tracks, "making" and "remaking." the first track opens with reverb clanking that is gradually overtaken by droning viola, processed in such a fashion that it sounds more like wind gusting through desolate canyons. as the viola continues to drone, with trembling lines that rise and fall, the clanking electronic noise in the background becomes thicker and more elaborate, until it resembles the sound of machinery at work in the distance. the tonal color of the drones changes in gradual fashion as the noise of the background begins to creep into the foreground, challenging the drones for supremacy in the mix. the depth and texture of the noise changes as well over the duration of the piece, slowly and inexorably, until the balance has shifted from being drone-heavy to noise-heavy. the track eventually ends as it began, with nothing but the clanking noises drenched in reverb. the track on the flip side of the album is similar in intent but marginally different in execution, dwelling more on the droning viola and less on the cracked electronics. a few minutes into the track, the rumbling of the electronics becomes more prominent, sweeping through the drone and adding texture to the ethereal sound. the album's cumulative aesthetic is a mysterious and powerful one, featuring a nuanced balance between drone and noise, with more depth and emotional intensity than one might expect for something so firmly minimalist. dark and beautiful without being overly heavy or morose, the album is ultimately a monument to the mystery of ambient drone and processed sound."

theonetruedeadangel.blogspot.com

"The self-titled, thirty-three-minute debut album from Oakland-based Maleficia, an “experimental noise” outfit pairing Andy Way (electronics) and Ilysea Viles Sunderman (vocals and viola), consists of two side-long pieces, “Making” and “Remaking.” In the opening piece, Sunderman's deathly moaning establishes the gloomy mood which Way then deepens by smothering it in a reverb-drenched cloud of violent blasts, rips, and tears. The agonized wail continues, seemingly indifferent to the vortex of noise intensifying around it and threatening to obliterate it altogether. By the end of side one, you'll feel like you're staring directly into the center of an inferno. “Remaking” opens with the multi-layered saw and shudder of Sunderman's viola and wordless vocalizing, both of which Way subsequently wraps in a grimy, shape-shifting blanket of electronic distortion. There's an elemental, brute force to the duo's sound, something purposefully cultivated if Maleficia's own MySpace characterization is taken at face value (the group's music sounds like “winds, blizzards, fire, rain, earth, the sea, smoke, sea shells, graves, gods, walking, our unending pain ...”). Noise freaks may want to act fast, given the release's modest 400 copy-run."

textura.org

aaaaaand one in kanji

"◆Maleficia [LP]2,170円(税込2,279円)
サンフランシスコ・ベイエリアの要注目実験／電子系レーベルIsounderscore！！こちらも
2009年タイトルとしてイラン電子音楽2LP[Ornamental]と同時期に発表された最新タイトル！！
ビオラ、ドローンボイス、エレクトロニクスを操る、ほぼ無名と思われるオークランドの
実験系デュオMaleficiaのデビューLPで、どうやら英実験系のコリン・ポッター/NWW周辺
で知られるirr. app. (ext.) と深い関係があるユニット。ビオラからの不安定なエレクトロニクス
ドローンと「ア～～」と歌い続ける女性ボイスの絡みが美しい、若干ビザールながらも恍惚系
なミニマル作品！！限定400枚！！"
art-into-life.com

i don't have any of these... so don't ask. all reviews from aquariusrcords.org
maybe the have some? READ ON:


NF ORCHEST Parasite / Cleanse (Breaking Wheel)
NF Orchest is a Bay Area electro-acoustic / noisenik / improv trio centered around the activities of Angela Hsu, Andrew Way, and James Kaiser. While Hsu has connections with Mills College, Way and Kaiser have performed extensively around the Bay Area as French Radio with Bruce Anderson; Kaiser also records solo under the moniker Petit Mal. Bowed metals, damaged turntables, tumbled rocks, screeched violin pushed through squawk boxes, and the improbabilities of feedback all come together in the density of raw sound of NF Orchest that reflects the same interest in acoustic sonology as heard in Organum and Tony Conrad. Couple those influences with a eagerness to set off depth-charge rumbles, subterranean detonations, and Skaters-esque lo-fi dissonance, NF Orchest adds a particular noise-junk malice that is all their own. Yup, this is a super limited CD-R release of two live sessions recorded in July, 2005. Only 104 copies.

FRENCH RADIO Elements (Breaking Wheel Imprint)
An album many years in the making, Elements is the debut offering from French Radio, a collaborative effort between Bruce Anderson (MX80), Jim Kaiser (Petit Mal), and Andy Way (Maleficia). The record has finally been released, graced with cover art featuring the ever-eccentric drawings of M.S. Waldron / irr.app.(ext.). In many ways, the album is curiously prescient of our recent fascination with all things on the Lampse label, in particular that Jasper, TX record I'll Be Long Gone Before My Light Reaches You although realized through the context of grizzled improvisation instead of a loosely sutured structuralism. Each of the four tracks on Elements represent the primordial fundamentals: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. Through their constructions of guitar, turntable, tapes, and boat-loads of effects, French Radio conjures an interconnected sound between all of their base elements. The flanging tone-float activity of mangled electricity into distant clouds of din, crackle, and spectral dust has the threatening aura of an electrocutioner's chamber buzzing with high-voltage tension. Unrecognizably abstracted vocal collages culled from varispeed tapes and reverse spun turntables spiral in and out of the ominous clouds, topped with squalid layers of thunderous distortion alternating with mournful half-melodies strummed on Anderson's guitar. Limited to 100 copies.


MALEFICIA s/t (Breaking Wheel)
Maleficia is the work of Bay Area noise artist Andy Way (French Radio, NF Orchest) and avant-vocalist Ilysea Simpson. Their debut cd-r begins with an evocative wordless vocalization from Simpson conjuring the likes of Christina Carter and Jarboe in decontextualizing Southern hymns away from their spiritual intent and toward the raw emotional expression of just voice. After about five or six minutes of a capella delivery, Simpson's duet with Way begins as he gradually unleashes a torrent of tactile noise, all bathed in reverb, which somewhat mutes the sharpness of the distortion, static, and turbulant noise. As her voice becomes more processed and takes on more shrill characterists alongside Way's caustic noise, Maleficia begin to resemble the volatile noise and voice couplings of Fe-Mail to remarkable results. Stitched paper artwork completes this limited edition production of which we only have a handful.


V/A Irreplaceable Hand: A Benefit CD For Dax Pierson (Pink Bandana)
Back in February 2005, the eccentric, Anticon hip-hop outfit Subtle was on Interstate 80 in Iowa while touring the mid-west, when their van hit black ice and flipped over several times. The band members emerged from the wreckage bruised but unharmed, except for one: Dax Pierson had broken his neck. Since then, Dax has undergone extensive physical therapy; and while his insurance has covered his medical expenses (hooray for small businesses who give their employees health benefits!), there's plenty which his health insurance does not cover. As a result, there has been an international campaign to aid in Dax's recovery. Dax is a man who has touched many people's lives, inspiring them not only with his incredible musical talents but also with his generosity and jovial nature. For those who have lived in the Bay Area, tribute concerts for Dax have been occurring regularly throughout the spring and summer of 2005 often spear-headed by Anticon itself but also by many of the Dax's co-workers at Amoeba Records in Berkeley; and this compilation continues in these efforts. Curated by Amoeba's Andy Way and Jim Kaiser, the Irreplaceable Hand may speak more to their affinity for the oddball things that float through their experimental section, but this nonetheless speaks to the numerous people whose hearts have opened for Dax. Nurse With Wound, Matmos, Odd Nosdam, irr. app. (ext.), High Volture (aka Bruce Anderson of MX-80), Moe! Staiano, and Petit Mal are some of those who have contributed to the Irreplaceable Hand. A.C. Way opens the album with a track of nightmarish ambience with Lustmordian overtones and a persistently unnerving squiggle. High Volture quickly changes gears with a splatter of post-Derek Bailey improv. The always impressive irr. app. (ext.) offers a piece of bowed metal dissonance and drone bristling with post-surrealist aural fragments. Matmos' quirky collage of re-engineered vocal samples and Moe! Staiano's all-fists on the organ keyboard stand out as moments of comic relief against the rather dark atmosphere that this comp. As one could image, the highlight of the album is the Nurse With Wound track, as Stapleton moves from ominous drones similar to those heard on the Angry Eelectric Finger sessions and slowly introduces a pretty groovy breakbeat, perhaps an indication of how a NWW hip-hop record might sound.
Of course we can't resist mentioning that there's of picture of Dax shot by Matt Waldron of irr. app. (ext.) while the two where shopping here at Aquarius! For information about Dax and his progress, please check out www.daxpierson.com.